Metso Oyj, a Helsinki, Finland-based manufacturer of heavy machinery has acquired a manganese steel foundry in China, aiming to improve its delivery of wear parts to the Asian mining and construction industry. In addition to mining and construction, Metso builds machinery and supplies other services worldwide for pulp and paper operations, energy companies, and oil-and-gas exploration and processing.
Metso already operates five foundries, and the Quzhou Chixin Machinery (JX) foundry, in Quzhou City, Zheijang province, reportedly has been a castings supplier to Metso.
“The acquisitions of JX and Shaorui Heavy Industries Ltd. and the joint venture with LiuGong Group Corp. Ltd, announced last November, significantly strengthen our supply capabilities for mining and construction industries in China,” stated Metso Mining and Construction president Andrew Benko.
“Metso now has a complete range of capital equipment and wear parts covering a wide range of customer requirements. By acquiring a new steel foundry in China we are able to better serve the needs of our Chinese customers,” Benko continued.
The cost of the new purchases will not be announced, Metso noted. It expects to finalize the purchase within a few months.
Metso is buying the assets of Quzhou Juxin Machinery Co. Ltd (JX) and Quzhou Chixin Machinery Co. Ltd from the current owners. Founded in 1987, JX has a 12,000-sq.m. plant on a 30,000-sq.m. site, and produces up to 15,000 metric tons/year of castings. The operation is ISO9001:2000 certified, and includes a melt shop, molding lines, machine shop, heat-treating equipment, and an inspection lab. According to Metso, the foundry and its affiliate (a fabricating and marketing operation) have a total of 275 employees.
The foundry produces high-manganese steel castings, including mantles, concaves, jaw plates, hammers, and wedge plates; high-chromium alloy iron castings, such as wear-resistant rings for coal milling machines, impact hammers, and impact plates; and carbon steel castings, such as crusher bottom shells, top shells, and straight gears.
Most of the JX foundry’s products are produced for export. In addition to Metso, it lists Sandvik SRP, Trio Crusher, Shenzhen Deyuansheng, North Industry, and Juhua Group as customers.
Metso's other foundries are in Ahmedabad, India; Isithebe, South Africa; Prerov, Czech Republic; Sorocaba, Brazil; and Tampere, Finland.
Metso has been in business in China for 80 years, and recently established a joint venture with LiuGong Group Corp. Ltd. to manufacture construction equipment. Late last year, it purchased Shaorui Heavy Industries Ltd., a mining equipment manufacturer.
“We already have the most extensive services hub and distribution network in our industry,” stated Metso’s João Ney Colagrossi, president of the Mining and Construction Services business line.
“With this acquisition we will strengthen our manufacturing presence in China and further develop our services business. We will improve our capability to supply wear parts to our mining and construction customers close to their operations and increase the flexibility and resilience of our wear products supply chain. We intend to use the acquired site as platform to further develop our services capabilities in China,” he added.